** Low humidity --- high rust **

[scootrose]

We moved into our 1998, 2100 sqft, 2 story (w/ basement) home 3 years ago. I installed a humidifier in our previous home that was of the hamster filter wheel through the water basin type. This time around I decided to upgrade to the cadillac powered misting style which injects water vapor into the warm air plenum about 20 seconds after the fan and burners kick on.

First off, the humidity in my home is still around the teens and I get shocked every time I take off my coat and my whole family seems to deal with sore throats and bloody noses. I have since installed a free-standing humidifier upstairs to get the levels of the bedrooms up to the lower 40s.

Okay, enough with the history lesson, here is the reason for my posting. I have now noticed rust developing around the seams of my ductwork with the bulk of it closer to the furnace (in some cases it has propagated about 6 inches). Was the powered mister a bad choice or is something else going on? Can I fix this? Should I remove the mister (especially since it does not seem to work well anyway)? Can I just seal the seams with aluminum tape (a process that definitely makes it look better :) )?

Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

[blacksheep]

POWER MISTER'S HAVE ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN TO RUST OUT METAL (DUCTWORK) AND DEPENDING ON WHERE AND HOW IT IS MOUNTED IT MAY NOT BE VERY EFFICENT SOURCE OF HUMIDITY I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND EITHER A GENERAL OR APRIL ALIRE TYPE OF HUMIDIFIRE THEY ARE BETTER FOR YOU AND THE DUCTWORK IN THE LONG RUN (HAVE A QAULIFIED CONTRACTOR DO THIS

[scootrose]

Thanks for the response blacksheep. So should I replace the rusted sections or can I just remove the mister (for now) and tape up the seams? Would you see this as a health hazard or just an issue with deterioration of the ductwork?

[cem-bsee]

inhailing any kind of particles is not good -- but I never heard of someone inhailing rust. more issue of having holy ducts -- which may let in dirty air from crawl, bsmt, etc.

you could switch to plastic ducts -- just now being marketed.

[mark beiser]

Get a steam humidifier, they are much better than any other type.

http://www.ewccontrols.com/steam_humidifier.htm

[scootrose]

Originally posted by cem-bsee
...having holy ducts...

Interesting. How would I go about doing that? Should I hire a religious HVAC technician to do this or would I have to get someone like a priest or bishop? :D Just kidding.

Well, since my basement flooded last week, I have had no problems with humidity.

[cem-bsee]

many of the problems blamed on humidifiers may be due to ductwork -- there needs to be a long straight section after the humidity injection to allow the water particles to mix with the air without condensing!

soap & water will remove mold, clean elec equipment -- be sure to rinse electronics with distilled water -- & let all dry --

BTW, one can get a pop valve for floor drains for $20 -- change out bsmt windows to glass block --

having the preacher over for Sun dinner would be good --